The issue of life elsewhere in the cosmos captured new attention when NASA revealed some of the latest findings from its Kepler telescope. Launched in 2009, Kepler's focus has been to seek out planetary systems elsewhere in THE GALAXY.
And it has been remarkably successful, more so than many astronomers ever expected. NASA announced recently that more than 1,200 possible planets have been discovered to date - 54 of which are at a distance from their suns that make them candidates for hosting life.
Eventually, and probably soon, scientists expect to identify specific Earth-sized planets. But that's just a first step. Determining whether such planets host life will be a more difficult matter to resolve.
And if intelligent life is found elsewhere, then what? From a practical standpoint, communications between planets is improbable, because of the years it would take for even basic messages to transmit. Actual travel to these planets is even less feasible.
Credit: space-wanderers.blogspot.com
